beluga

beluga

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Two Jeeps, four friends, an alien, and a spire

Pearl and Rocky on the slick rock trail....follow the white dots!

Yesterday Gay and Joe invited us to see some of the back roads sites they love here in Moab.     We followed them over hill and dale, sand and rock, all day and had a ball.



We stopped at a small, but very interesting panel of Barrier Canyon Pictographs painted onto a high alcove at Bartlett Rock Art site.

see tiny Gay?  

I thought we were looking for Petroglyphs (drawings carved, scratched or pecked into rock) and I was having no luck.     I took the above picture of Gay while I was searching the black areas of "varnish" for the drawings.      Dave calmly pointed them out to me when he realized I was struggling.     They are in the picture and I didn't know it.   If you look above Gay's head and to the far right, you may just see their faint shapes.



alien?

Someone else was trying to lead me to the Pictographs by chirping and hopping excitedly around.

little Wren tour guide

We continued along to our next stop, Dellenbach Tunnel, an unusual underground arch.



We gathered our lunches, hiked a short way across the slick rock and climbed down to it's entrance.


down we go

coming through

We entered and followed the narrow passage through to the wide open, sunny side to eat our lunches.


lunch - complete with Sweet Craving's Potato Chip Cookies!

After lunch we wandered around a bit enjoying the views on the edge of nearby Spring Canyon.


it's a long way down


Back through the arch and in the Jeeps again we were off to find the Secret Spire.


Joe waits at the top.  (sometimes he would get out and help Dave find the best line)

unnamed arch along the way


Secret Spire sits silently atop its smooth slick rock base





Gay stretches for the perfect shot

Once again we wandered the area a bit after admiring the incredible formation from all angles.

several potholes in a high pourover.   one still holds water from the last rain


Our day ended as it began, following Gay and Joe back home.   Thanks for giving us such a fun day off road.

Pearl leaves us in the dust!



4 comments:

  1. Now that's an awesome trail! Seeing the pictographs and a little known arch would have made it worthwhile, but the Secret Spire!, that's a totally unique destination.

    We'll be in Moab this fall, if we cross paths with Gay and Joe ...

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  2. That Secret Spire is WILD!! How fun that you shared a day of adventuring with friends. I love your little wren tour guide, too. :-))

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  3. Fun, fun, fun!! Three treats in one day. Love the photo of Gay at the Spire:)

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  4. Love all the photos and I m pretending Im with you on this adventure! That 's a great shot of Gay on the spire and Dave standing on the left for perspective.
    Good times indeed!

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